SAINT GEORGE’S DAY

This celebration is very important in Catalonia; it represents love and culture, love between people and love between literature. In that day books and roses are every were creating a very nice atmosphere. In the last years it has been exported around the world.

This historical event started on the medieval age.

The legend tells that Saint George was a knight that defended a kingdom from a dragon. The kingdom was very afraid because they have to give the princes as food for the dragon, but fortunately St George could kill it. After the fight between the knight and the dragon, a drop of blood drooped from the terrific dragon, that blood transformed into a red rose. St George gave the rose to the princes showing his love for her. You can believe it or not, but since that day we celebrate that St George killed the dragon and the princes was saved.

Saint George’s day was celebrated for the first time on the XVI century.

Now a day, we celebrate St George’s day on the 23th of April because it’s the day that he died. Women give a book for men and men give a rose for women like St George did. This celebration is the Catalan version of Valentine’s Day.

We also commemorate the death of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare.

St George is the patron saint official of Catalonia since 1456.